Sunday, August 16, 2015

6 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Got Published

What writer doesn’t want to see their name in print? As a
teenager, I was determined to publish my first book at age 14. Instead, my first
short story wasn’t published until I was a freshman in college. That’s not to
say that dreams can’t come true. Things just didn’t turn out the way I had
expected. Here are just a few of the things I learned along the way that I wish
I knew beforehand:

1) Publishing is a long process.

And I mean long. Okay, not like getting your doctorate long
(though it could be…). But publishing a short story can last 3+ months, and
that’s not including the writing or editing processes. Although I have not yet
published a novel-length work, simply writing one has taken months. I can only
image how long it takes to publish something of much length.

So you’re thinking about publishing a Christmas story? You’d
better start writing it in September or sooner.

2) It’s okay to submit more than
once.

Some
magazines or publishing houses don’t accept simultaneous submissions but others
do. Make sure you check each company’s guidelines. When it comes to publishing,
it’s important to be persistent. Keep submitting for publication after
publication. As I mentioned before, I didn’t get my first short story published
until I was a freshman in college. After that, I didn’t get another short story
published until my senior year.

I wish I had submitted more often and before I reached
college. Even if the only tangible results meant more rejection letters, at
least I would’ve had the experience.

3) Not everybody will read my
story.

We
live in a world where (sadly) not everybody enjoys reading. Just because I got
a short story published didn’t mean that every person I met would demand to read it. While I thoroughly enjoy reading, many of my family members will never read for pleasure. Even
though I have three short stories published, some of the people I know well have
never read them.

4) Rejection will happen.

Rephrased: rejection may happen to some stories and not to
others, but it will happen. Before I got published, I acknowledged rejection as
a fact somewhere in the back of my mind. I was fortunate enough to have my first submission published, but afterward I had multiple rejections. Each publication is fantastic, but it will
not guarantee the next one.

5) Acceptance will happen.

Unless
you give up, you’re likely to get something published if you’re persistent
enough. But wait? Isn’t acceptance the goal of submitting a story? Well, yes. But
it is also quite terrifying. Publication means more people will read my work,
and I always wish I knew what they will think. Will they like it? What if they
don’t? And so on. If there’s anything more terrifying for me than getting
rejected, it’s getting accepted.

6) There’s more to being a writer
than being an author.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s good to be published. But the delight
I felt after I received my first letter of acceptance didn’t last. After I
finished the final edits, my involvement with the story was over. I didn’t
go back to read my story, except maybe at somebody’s request to read it aloud. For
me, that particular story was over, so I went back to writing.

This is not to say that publication is some evil dragon that
destroys writing. It’s not. But it’s not a glamorized ultimate goal for
writers. If you write and aren’t published yet, you’re an aspiring author, not an
aspiring writer. Writers are called writers because they write whether they’re
published or not. Publishing is just one way to share that writing with others.